Knightshade

Generally most companies charge for new maps...it's another place the aftermarket is cheaper than OEM though. Lexus charges $300 a year for new maps. Garmin gets $75. Now, with Garmin at least (and I would hope other manufacturers) if you buy a unit that happens to have old maps on it, as long as you have proof of purchase date, you'll get a free update to whatever the "current' maps are when you purchased it. http://www.gpsreview.net/ that's a site with pretty good GPS reviews... if you are looking tomtom in particular you'd go here: http://www.gpsreview.net/category/gps-manu...om-gps-reviews/ Tomtom maps seem to run a bit more expensive just at a glance than Garmin, but still a lot cheaper than Lexus.

He'd still have the exact same functionality though as far as the AC. More, really, since he could directly change the temp with a button press, as opposed to the OEM system where you have to change to the climate screen first. Anytime I've had a loaner with nav I found it pretty annoying to have to switch between screens to accomplish the same things (ac, radio controls, etc) that I can do directly in one step on my non-nav car... and if he's new to the platform that's probably worth mentioning to him as a consideration too.

Or for 1/10th the cost you can buy a garmin that does more and doesn't cripple itself when you are in drive... plus you won't impact the warranty on the audio system. Actually, if you don't need traffic and bluetooth you can get a good Garmin at/under $100 nowadays. Looking at nav systems (the kind that sit on the dash) you have three common things you need to decide if you care about: 1) Text to speach- This is where it says "In 500 feet turn left on Elm Street" instead of the more generic "In 500 feet, turn left". If this is the only thing that matters to you you can get a nice unit in the $100-150 range pretty easily. 2) Bluetooth- Having the nav and your phone connect... so you can do handfree calling with the speaker/mic in the nav unit, dial via the phonebook on the nav, etc.... If this and #1 are all you care about you can get a nice unit in the $150-250 range depending on sales and such. 3) Realtime traffic- There are 3 different traffic services, all of which can deliver realtime traffic data to your nav unit, show accidents, route you around them, etc... In the case of the MSN service it can also show you local movie times, weather, route you to the cheapest nearby gas, etc. This is a for-pay service but it's fairly cheap (like $60 a year or $199 lifetime service from MSN for example). If you want all three features you're looking around $300 for a good unit. If you let me know which ones you care about (and if there's anything else you specifically know you need it to do I didn't mention) I can probably suggest a model or two, and probably even let you know if there's any deals running now, or where to keep an eye out for such deals if there's not.

Without nav you can still change the radio and AC by touch. It's a magical invention called buttons! Heh... anyway, the Lexus ipod kit does -not- play videos on the nav screen. The aftermarket VAIS kit can do so if you buy the right model though. Note that using this in motion would be illegal in a number of states.

It would cost more than just getting it as an option in the first place (it's several thousand bucks to get everything for a full swap) and it won't be covered by your warranty. On the other hand, for $300 you can buy a Garmin unit that does considerably more than the OEM unit does, and doesn't cripple itself when you put the car in drive... but it will sit ON the dash instead of IN the dash. If you -must- have ti in your dash you could get an aftermarket head unit with a screen and navigation installed, that also does more, for less than the cost of swapping in the OEM unit.

U MUST HAVE THE NAV. THE CAR IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT IT B/C U ARE ABLE TO CONTROL A/C AND EVERYTHING ON A TOUCH SCREEN WHICH IS SICK! DONT get the 350 i have a friend who got it and he hates it b/c he said in stop and go traffic he always feels like vomiting b/c he's thrown back and forth from stopping and accelerating at the stop lights satellite radio sucks i paid a butt load im not gonna lie. no where near invoice bro AND BTW THE LUX PACKAGE IS CURSED! I DID AN EARLIER POSTING ON IT AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE! and if you don't get nav you save 2-3k and can -still- control your AC by touch...amazing! And yeah, your friend doesn't know how to drive a car if that's how he drives his 350

You mean you haven't noticed any engine knock Which means the knock sensors are doing their job. You'd need something that read data off the CAN bus to actually -know- if you were knocking or not. Given that lexus didn't just decide the car needs 91 to run properly for their health, you likely are. In an AWD 250 though your performance is pretty poor to begin with, so you'd likely need to make an effort to measure what you're losing by the ECU pulling timing. What you're losing in long term engine damage will take a while to notice. But hey, you're saving $2-3 a tank, so there's that. Well, assuming you've actually, scientifically, measured the mileage differences properly... since it'd take a pretty small difference to lose that 2-3 bucks back... a 5% drop in mileage would negate all the "savings" while still doing the damage and pulled timing.

I vaguely recall it was like 2 or 3 hundred from 07 to 08.... pricing for 09s hasn't been officially announced yet.

Lexus has been making the retarded design decision to not include a specific "pause" button on their CD players for a good 15 years or more now :P

Mr. Smooth1, I agree 99%. However I am not sure what you mean by VW not being enough car but I admit they seem to be like in a separate german category, still they are reliable well "german" designed cars (or at least used to be?) I had an 84 Scirocco that finally sold in 2000 after 210K miles and it would not quit going. Still VW seems to be usually out of place or behind the rest but have a strong following. Again in the BMW/Lexus debate, I am not sorry at all for my choice. JA, No Oil dipstick. They are nuts !!!! Your 84 VW might have been reliable, but that was about the last time they made one like that. VW has ranked in/near the bottom of the JD Power long term dependability study every year for a good decade or so now... their reliability is -horrible- and has been for quite some time.

The things there from the factory are the headlamp washers, the power rear sunshade, and the 08+ coinholder You can certainly do the coinholder pretty cheaply :) I imagine the other two could be added but probably not at any reasonable cost for their usefulness Memory seats are on the door panels and -very- -very- expensive to add later because they use a different body ECU, wiring, etc

Keeps running until they shut it off... otherwise the real owner would be screwed if the battery ever died in the fob

When you replace your tires you might consider paying for the road hazzard warranty, that -will- cover flats from nails and other road debris.

Well, first the bad news... the IS also has a lifetime transmission. You can't change the fluid. I don't mean they don't recommend it, I mean it's physically impossible. It does have normal tires and an oil dipstick though :) It also has a vastly nicer and more modern interior, and vastly better reliability. The "common problems" you list on your BMWs are certainly common to BMWs, but not Lexuses. A common 'problem' on a lexus is "the brakes produce too much dust" to give you an idea. It won't have the magical road feel that everyone raves about with BMWs. But it'll still handle well, and if you want performance the IS350 is a -lot- cheaper than the 335 with similar options. If you're looking at a 250 it won't be uberfast, but it'll still handle well and be a lot cheaper than a comparable BMW. (and unless you're getting a 335 or M3 none of the 3 series cars are fast either) The ES is FWD, I can't imagine someone who is used to how a porsche or a BMW handles will enjoy driving it... it's comfortable and nice, but it's not going to excite anyone. When I ended up car hunting I initally was going to look at the 3 series, the IS350, the G35, and the Acura TL-S. The BMW dropped off the list first when I saw how insane they jack the price up for any sort of options and when I saw they didn't seem to have moved past 1995 on interior design or materials. However, since you've owned a lot of german cars, that might be the kinda spartan inside you like. Ultimately, test drive the IS, and see how you like it... it sounds like you're looking for AWD, which locks you into the 250... too slow for me personally, but apart from the power difference the rest of the car is pretty similar between 250 and 350 so you'll still get all the other perks of the vehicle which are many.

The way to program the sunroofs behavior is to take it to the lexus dealer, it requires their techstream tool to change most of the personalized settings with very few exceptions.

I dont think you can physically steal the IS x50 (unless someone tows it) ... if someone breaks into the IS, the engine immobilzer activates, meaning your car engine shuts down ... hence rendering it useless. Am I correct in my understanding? Somewhat simpler would be if someone stole your key fob. In which case the in-car nav system is still no help to anyone but the guy who stole it.

You can get the low-dust TSIB brake pads put on the car (free for 06-07, on an 08 it'll depend on if the dealer wants to do you a favor or not otherwise you'd have to pay for em)- that solves the dust issue. Rattles- depends on the car. On my car there's pretty much none... if the interior of the car was VERY hot (over 100 degrees) then I get in and crank the AC, there'll be like a 1 second creak or two as the plastic on the dash cools, and I've had nothing else.... other folks don't even get that... other folks have a lot more/frequent rattles. The good news it's all covered by the warranty regardless. If you get an 08 the front seat-backs have a sort of carved out space for your legs... it doesn't look like much but does make a difference... the back is fine for two average height -adults- to ride in for short periods, so it should be no problem at all for kids. Even in an 06-07 I wouldn't expect kids to be an issue back there. I don't have a 250 so can't speak to its real world mileage... I can tell you my 350 with "normal" driving (ie doing 10 over the speed limit usually) gets about 28 on the highway and about 21 in the city, and I've seen a couple of guys manage to hit 30 highway driving a touch more sedately under the right conditions. Be aware that mileage wise the RWD automatic 250 will be best, the AWD and manual 250s both worse.

I agree. Double check your tire pressure before and wouldn't hurt during the trip as well. I did a quick calculation: If you get 30 MPG (I'm guessing that's normal for 60 mph) you will use approximately 60.5 gallons. If you get 25 MPG (Again, guessing that's normal for 75 mph) you will use approximately 72.7 gallons. With gas averaging at $4.50 a gallon, you would save about $54.51 over the entire trip. However, it would take you an additional 6 hours... Is your time worth more than $9.00 an hour?!? I think I'd spend the additional cash to get there early. After a trip like that you will probably be suffering from cabin fever. Note: This assumes the mileage from Vegas to Birmingham is 1,817 (per mapquest) and I have made assumptions on MPH and gas prices. You're mileage may vary! dude u rock. lexuses dont break often do they? how can i prevent a flat tire? Don't run over anything sharp :P Honestly, keep your tires properly inflated, don't hit anything with em, and that's about all you can really do... you can keep the car properly aligned to reduce wear, and check for wear on a regular basis, and that'll at least reduce the odds of a "surprise" blowout somewhat, but run over the wrong thing and it won't matter.

Drive at a consistent speed, closer to the speed limit the better usually, and brake as little as possible. On a new/nearly new lexus? Tire pressure, and if you'll be due for an oil change before the trip would be done...that's about it.

RWD is terrible in those road conditions if you are a terrible driver. Thing is, a lot of people are. RWD with good snow tires and a good driver is no problem at all.

The rain sensor is in the windshield somehow, thus creating the high price for a new windshield. At least, that's my understanding. I'm pretty sure the rain sensor is the little box near the rear view mirror on the inside of the windshield, it's not "part" of the windshield any more than the rear view mirror itself is then. Don't have a pic handy, but here's an aftermarket system that uses the same type of sensor in a similar location- http://www.raintracker.com/rt_more_info.php

I'm unclear how the auto windshield wipers have anything to do with rock chips... and I've heard at least as many non-ML cd changer problems as ML ones, likely more.... most rattles I've heard about are from the center/dash area, having nothing to do with the steering wheel. I have ML and the sport package, which is everything in the lux except the ugly woodgrain and the rear sunshade, plus some additional items (sport pedals and sport suspension) and I have none of the problems you describe.

You're holding up europeans while bashing lexus quality? Um... wow. Europe, on the whole, has been in the quality toilet for a long time now... look at JD Powers long term vehicle dependability study. Volkswagon near rock bottom for most of a decade... Mercedes Benz below average for most of a decade... Audi and Volvo well below average... BMW's the only major european brand that was above average more often than not and while you're complaining your dash rattles the 335i owner is complaining his car didn't come with an oil cooler and both his turbos are cooked. And guess who's going on 14 straight years at #1? Lexus.

That was a port injected V8 with a 10:1 compression ratio. This is a direct injected V6 with a 12:1 compression ratio. Not an especially useful comparison. Not to mention, with modern knock sensors, you'd have no idea if the engine ever knocked or not unless you were running a real time data scanning tool on it. For all you know after 50k miles it had the wear of 100k miles. Not an issue if you got rid of it before it failed, but again I wouldn't want to be the next owner.

No, I wish to be accurate. If you could possibly read this thread, or the other, and that not be the term that comes to mind about what folks are doing, well, I dunno what to tell you. I posted a simple, true, statement each time. Each time someone decided to argue about it. How I'm being combative when I started neither argument remains equally unclear. Especially when I just offered to take the whole topic off-line if the other party does as well.